Charles g



June 24, 1930.

' G. RICHARDSON CLOTH REST; CONSTRUCTION FOR CLOTH ISHEARS Filed Jan. 9, 1924 3 sheets she et 1 June 24, 1930, c, G, RICHARDSON I 1,768,490

CLOTH REST CONSTRUCTION FOR CLOTH SHEARS Filed Jan. 9, 1 924 3Sheets-Sheet 2 June 24, 1930. c. a. RICHARDSON 6 0mm nssw CONSTRUCTION FOR CLOTH sums Filed- Jan. 9,- 1924 a Sheets-Sheet 5 7 7/11 W II/11'.

Patented June 24, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES e; RICHARDSON, or SPRINGFIELD, VERMONT, AssIenon T0 PARKS & wool.-

SON MACHINE COMPANY, OF SPRINGFIELD, VERMONT, A CORPORATION OF VER- MONT , CLOTH-REST CONSTRUCTIONjFiORCLOTI-I'SHEARs Application fil edJanuary 9, 1924. Serial No. 685,245. I

This invention relates to cloth shearing machines, such as are used for shearing or cropping the surface of cloth, and'is intended to provide an improved construction and arrangement of the cloth rest devices by which the cloth .is' properly presented to the action of the shearing blades.

According to the general practice heretofore obtaining in this art, provision hasbeen made for increasing or decreasing the eiiective length of the cloth support or rest by arranging, at each endof said rest, a series of narrow extension sections or joints which a are combined with automatic adjusting mechanism by which the rapidly passing clot-h, as it swerves from side to S1d8, con-- against the actuating cam bar, due to the thrust or pressure of the cloth, is minimized or eliminated. These arrangements are based upon the principle of arranging the slidable joints or extension members of the cloth rest so that they movein a'plane nearly parallel to the travel of the cloth approaching the shear, and thus exert no longitudinal thrust against theiractuating cam bar to cause binding or hard action'of these coacting parts. In the second place, the reciprocatory actuating rack-bar is arranged directly upon the slide bar which carries the joint actuating cam so that its engagement with the cloth-controlled pawl, carried by the slide, produces no appreciable torque which tends tobindthe slide bar itself against free longitudinal movement. More over, this arrangement of the movable joints, with their controlling slide bar and the actuating. 'members, provides such a compact arran ement that the desired sharp angle ofthe clbth rest is easily obtained.

"These. and other features of the invention will be explained in the following specification and will be defined in the claims hereto annexed. V i 1 In the'accompanying drawings I have illustrated a simple and convenient form of construction and arrangement embodying the principles of thisinvention, in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view showing one end of the extensible member in conjunction with its automatic adjusting devices Controlled .by the cloth;

7 Figure 2 is a verticalsection on a plane 22, Fig. 1, transverse to the cloth rest.

and parallel to the travel of the cloth just outside the cloth-control dog by which op erativeconnection between the reciprocatory rack-bar and the joint-adjusting slide isestablishedi Figure 3 is a detail View showing, in rear elevation, that is from the side toward the cloth rest, the relation of the cloth-controlled pivotal dog and the novel cloth-spreading member arranged in advance thereof.

Figure 4 is a perspective view showing the left hand endportion of the cloth rest with part of the extension joints advanced and part in retracted position. 7 I

As is understood by those skilled in the art, the cloth rest of a shearing machine presents a straight edge or corner running transversely ofthe machine in close 3.880013, tlon with a-fixed ledger blade whlch raises the nap or pile to be sheared and constitutes the stationary member co-acting with the rotary shear blades to clip the projecting ends of the nap or pile threads.

As the cloth selvage is likely to pucker and wrinkle it has been the practice to cut away the opposite end portions of the cloth rest beam and to insert in such recessed portions a series of slidable joints which, when thrust out toward the edge of the ledger blade, form a continuation of the intermediate fixed straight edge of the cloth rest but which are retractable by automatic mechanism to leave a wider space for the passage of the selvage as the cloth swerves from side to side in its forward travel through the machine. Since the cloth itself causes actuation of these automatically controlled extensions it is important that these cloth rest extensions or joints, as they are called, shall work with the greatest possible ease and with the least frictional resistance to the operation of their controlling mechanism.

As in the case of prior art machines, these cloth rest extension joints are mounted inv two groups, one at'each end of the fixed or solid part of the cloth rest so as to form a straightline continuation thereof when the. joints are advanced,.and' also to leave a space between the shearing elements and the end portions of the cloth rest for the passage of the edge portions or selvages of the cloth being sheared, when the joints are retracted. As in prior practice, these extension joints are advanced to extend the cloth rest edge and to retract the cloth rest edge, oneither side, by means of transversely slidable cam bars having offset or cam portions for engaging notches formed in the rear end portions of therespective sets of extension joints. Each cam bar isintermittently actuatedby means of a cloth controlled'latch or dog that directly, or indirectly, forms operative engagement between a constantly reciprocating rack bar and the slidable cam bar. Furthermore, the cloth rest extension mechanismsisfsimilar on both sides of the ma chine, except that they are laid out in'reverse to each other.

According to the practice illustrated in the accompanying drawings, the stationary ledger'bl-ade 1' is secured in a substantially vertical position with its nap raising edge 2 in close proximity to the'circular path 30 of the revolving fl blade which shears the map. 7

Close to thisshearing line is located the cloth restv edge 2* which projects from a transverse rigid beamfl extending from side frame-to side frame of the machine. Near its opposite ends this cloth rest beam 2 is recessed on its upper surface to receive a series of side by side narrow slide bars or extension joints 6, which in their advanced position follow the contour of the fixed and permanent cloth supporting edge portion 2- of the cloth rest beam but which can be retracted from the shear line to allow ample space for the edge portions Of the cloth to pass between the shear blades and this portion of the cloth rest.

It will be noticed that these joints or sections 6 lie in a very nearly horizontal plane so that they closely approximate the plane of the travel of the cloth immediately in front of the shear. As these adjustable joints 6 are of substantial length and are snugly seated between the cover plate 7, and the underlying portion of the cloth rest beam, it will be seen that the thrust, due to the tension or pull of the cloth, is exerted chiefly in a direction transverse to the length of the joints 6 instead of exerting an endwise thrust thereon, according to previous prac tice, thereby practically eliminating any binding action between the cam bar 8, 8, and the joints 6 which it actnates through engagementwith notches at the forward ends 'ofthe joints as will be presently explained.

there is mounted in the beam 2, a slide bar 9,

movable transversely of the machine, that is, transversely of the travel of the cloth. This slide is provided with forwardly extending brackets 9 upwardly turned at their forward ends to support a top plate 9 whose rear edge, toward the shear, is mounted on the upwardly projecting ledge 9 of the slide, said top plate forming a support moving with the slide whenthe slide is moved. On thistop plate 9* is mounted thecloth-spreading device which, in this case, comprises a corrugated roller 12 mounted on a vertically swingable arm 12 which is carried by horizontal pivot pin. 11 supported in the lugs l0 'of a hinge bracket 10 that is secured by screws to the top plate 9. The obliquity of the axis tothe travel of the edge of the cloth indicated at 02, in Figure 1, and consequently the resulting. obliquity of its corrugations has the effect of directing the adjacent edge of the cloth outwardly so as to keep it smooth and prevent the cloth from foldingor wrinkling on itself as it passes along toward the shear. Inconsequenceof this the cloth is drawn with a light tension outwardly into orbetween the diverging jaws 16, 16 of a forked bracket 16, which is attached to a pivotal dog-or double ended pawl 14 which is right of the diagonal ofiset part 8 forming the cam, will be extended to operative position, while those to the left of said offset, being engaged with the left-hand portion of the cam-bar, are in retracted or inoperative position. As thiscam-bar orrib 8'moves with the slide 9,which in turn is actuatedby the rack-bar 22, which is constantly reciprocated during the operation of the machine, and which is intermittently connected with the slide through the medium of the feelercontrolled dog 14, which is carried by the slide itself, it will be understood that the po sition of the cam-bar is'controlled by the rack-bar induced movement of the slide in or out. i I

At its opposite ends the doglais provided with projecting teeth 14 and 1 1', whose out-' side faces are substantially at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the rack-bar 22, but whose inside faces. are oppositely inclined so that, as the rack-bar 22 moves outwardly (see Fig. '1) the interior inclined face of the tooth 14? tends to ride outof'engagement with the rack-teeth, while movement of the rack-bar inwardly tends to produce the same efiect upon the oppositely inclined face of the tooth 14 In other words, each rack tooth can form an operative engagement with the actuating rack-bar only in one direction, while tending to slip over the rackteeth in the other direction, each, therefore,

having the action-of a ratchet-pawl.

The dog 14: is provided with a projecting pin 18 which is normally pressed to turnthe pawl in a counter-clockwise direction by the pressure of a spring-pressed plunger 20 mounted in a lug 19 on the bracketQ This spring pressure on the pivotal rod" is light enough to be readily counteracted or overcome by the drag of the "cloth passing through the feeler fingers 16 and 16 when the cloth moves into the crotch of said forked feeler, so thatthe right hand tooth 14 is then engaged'with the rack-bar and, as the rack-bar continues its reciprocating movement, causes the slide 9, on each outward stroke of the rack-bar, to shift the slide step by step outwardly, thereby pushing out additional extension sections6 to operative position to form a continuation of the clothsupporting edge of the cloth rest. g

' As soon as the edge of the cloth beginsto swerve -away from the crotch of the forked feeler, the spring plunger 20 isthenifree to swing the dog 14 in a counter-clockwise direction, thereby bringing the oppositely'dis posed or reversely acting tooth '14 into engagement with the teeth of the rack-bar so that, with each inward stroke of the rackbar, the slide 9 is operatively engaged or connected for inward step-by-step movement, thereby successively drawing in from operative position in succession individual extension sections or joints. It will benoted that with this construction only one row of rack teeth is necessary to effect the desired adjustment of the joint-controlling slide in re verse directions. Moreover, it will be noted that the rack bar 22, instead of being mounted on theifixed cross beam as heretofore, is

supported on the adjacent slide bar 9 and, furthermore, thatthe thrust of the ratchet dog or latch 14 against the rack bar tends to press the rack bar more firmly against the upstanding ledge or rib-9 of the slide 9. Now, as the slide 9 always moves along with the rack bar when operatively engaged therewith by the latchvlt, the frictional contact of the bottom face of the rack barwiththe supportingface of the slide 9, as well as the frictional contact of the rack. bar with the adjacent face of the rib 9 tends to assist movement of the slide with the rack bar and thereby tends, in a measure, to produce the desired movement of the slide, which isa novel feature of the present invention.

The cloth-spreading or guiding device 12 rests directly upon the cloth and is easily cloth when removing, inserting or inspecting the cloth. The cloth-spreading or guiding member 12, as eXplained,-is mounted on the top plate9 of the slide so as to traverse in unison with the slide and with the ratchet dog and the dog-actuating feeler transversely of the machin I With the described construction and ar rangement it will be seen that the working parts are relatively disposed and arranged to permit the cloth to pass around an acute angle at the'shearing line and also, by reason of the absence of any drag or binding action, results in the production of a device that isvery'easily operated and is instantly responsive to the movement of the cloth. Since the table 5, the cover 7, and the top plate 9 'are easily removed, convenient access is given to all the working parts. It will be observed that the top plate 5 is provided with an elongated opening or window 5%, through which project spreader 12 and the dog-actuating feeler, this window having sufficient length to allow the requisite range of movement of these parts to actuate the desired number of'extension sections or joints. It will be observedthat I have pro vided beveled'teeth 24; near one end of the rack-bar and oppositely beveled teeth 25 near the otherend of the rack-bar. The object of this arrangement is to make it impossible for the connecting dog to establish operative connection between the actuating rack-bar ciprocating the rack-bar since there is nothing novel in this part ofthe construction as I make use of a pitman 26 connected with any suitable actuating member to maintain a short to and fro movement of the rack bar during the operation of the machine. Furthermore, as is well known in the art, this same mechanism is duplicated on the other side of the machine to extend the opposite side of the stationary cloth rest in the same manner, but as these extensible cloth rests are always duplicated on both ends .itihas been deemed unnecessary to illustrateboth sidesof the machine. The substantially horizontalarrangementofthe cloth rest extensions neutralizes the weight of these :extensions with reference to their engagement with either actuating cam bar.

What I claim is:

1. In an extensible cloth rest for a cloth shear, the combination with a main cloth rest, a series of: automatically adjustable end sections arranged to form an extension of the cloth rest, said end sections being movable 'to "and from cloth-supporting position in approximatelyparallelism with the plane oftravel of the cloth in frontof the shearing line, and means including atransversely movable cam bar, actuated by cloth-controlled means, to shift said sections according :to the lateral movement of the. cloth traveling to-the shear whereby thrust of the sections against the cam bar issubstantially eliminated.

.2. In1a-n extensible .cloth rest for a cloth shear, the combination of a cloth rest provided with an approximately horizontal cloth-supporting surface in front of the shearing line, a series of approximately horizontal movable sections arranged to form an extension of the cloth-supporting edgeof the rest, a ledger blade arranged in approximately vertical position with its top edge in operative relation -to the cloth-rest edgeand its cooperating shear,,and means controlled by the edge portion ofthe cloth in advance ofthe shearing line to cause one or more ofsaid sectionsto move into operative position to extend the effective length of the cloth rest. i

3. In an extensible, cloth rest fora cloth sheargthe combination with'a cloth rest having an approximately horizontal clot-h supporting face and --including approximately horizontal end extension sections, movable in anapproximately horizontal plane to and from operativecloth-supporting position according" to the lateral position of the edge :portion of the cloth moving toward. the shearing line, an intermittently movable slide arranged beneath said end extensions and having a cam member coacting with said sections tomove them individually to and from operative cloth-supporting position,an,actuating member for causing said slideito move transversely to the .length of the cloth and means superimposed upon said slide to engage the edge portion of the cloth and establish operative connection between the slide and said actuating member.

4. In anextensible cloth rest for a cloth shear, the combination with a cloth rest provided with a cloth-supporting surface in fron-tof theshearing line, a series of separatelyrmovable cloth rest end extension sections arranged to move in a plane approximately parallel to said cloth-supporting surfaceto and from cloth-supporting position, an intermittently movable slide provided with a cam member-arranged to coact with said sections to shift them individually out and in, a reciprocating rack bar mounted on saidvslide, and means controlled by engagement with the edge portion of the cloth to establish operative connection between said rack .bar and the slide to shift individual sections .to operative cloth-supporting position-accordingto the position of the edge of the cloth.

5. ,Inanextensiblecloth rest for a cloth shear,the combination with a cloth rest and its extension-sections, of a slide'having operative cam-bar connection with said end sections tomovethem individually in or out, a cloth-controlled dog carried by said slide, a reciprocatory rack-bar mounted on said slide between said cam bar and said dog with itslr'ack teeth disposed to be engaged by said-dog when the latter is moved against it through. the agency of the traveling cloth, substantially as described.

,6. In an extensible cloth rest fora cloth shear, the combination with a cloth rest and its extension sections, a slide having cam connection with said sections to. move them individually in or out a reciprocatory actu ating rack bar mounted on said slide to actuate the same and having frictional con tact with said slide, a cloth-controlled dog also mounted on said slide and arranged, when '-moved by the cloth, to active restextending position, to engage said rack bar and form an operative connection between the slide .and the rack barto actuate the slide whereby the movement of said slide by said actuating connection is assisted by the frictional engagement of its actuating rack bar.

7. In an extensible cloth rest for a cloth 7 shear, the combination with a cloth rest and its extension sections, of a slide having operative connection w1th said sections to move them in and out, a reciprocatory slide shear, the OOIllblIliLtlOIl; wlth an extensible actuating bar provided with a single row of rack teeth, a dog provided with two rackengaging teeth disposed to form operative connection with the rack teeth on opposite strokes of the rack-bar respectively, when lranoved to operative engagement with said 8. In an extensible cloth rest for a cloth shear, the combination with a cloth rest and tioning edge of the cloth rest and provided with an elongated opening therein, a movable section-adjusting slide and its actuating rack bar mounted beneath said plate, clothspreading means and a cloth feeler mounted above said slide to project through said opening for engagement with the cloth and movable in the plane of the cloth, said feeler being connected witha pivotal dog to establish connection between the rack bar and the slide.

9. In an extensible cloth rest for a cloth shear, the combination witha cloth rest and its movable extension sections, of a transversely movable slide for positioning the extensions according to the lateral position of the cloth in advance of the shearing line, slide-actuating means including a reciprocatory rack bar and a cooperatively disposed dog pivoted upon an axis transverse to the plane of the cloth approaching the shear, a cloth feeler connected with the dog to control the position of the dog with relation to the rack-bar, substantially as described.

10. In an extensible cloth rest for a cloth shearing machine, the combination with an extensible sectional'cloth rest, of cloth controlled means by which the cloth rest is extended when the adjacent edge of the cloth moves outwardly, said cloth controlled means embracing an underneath cloth support, a cloth feeler and a cloth spreading de vice hingedly mounted to rest upon the edge portion of thecloth above the said underneath cloth support in advanceof the feeler and being swingable upward away from above the cloth to allow insertion or inspection of the cloth.

11. In an extensible cloth rest for a cloth shear, the combination with .an extensible sectional cloth rest, of cloth-controlled means by which the cloth rest is extended when the adjacent edge of the cloth moves outwardly, said cloth-controlled means embracing a cloth feeler comprising forked members arranged respectively to engage opposite sides of the cloth and being connected with a pivoted dog forming part of the cloth-rest extending means, said feeler acting by its engagement. with the cloth. to

produce an appropriate lengthening of the cloth-rest, substantially as described.

-12. In an, extensible cloth rest for acloth sectional cloth rest, means including a ratchet pawl and rack bar for effecting the ,ex-

tension of said cloth rest, and a cloth feeler arranged to engageopposite sides of the edge portion of the cloth and movable. in the plane of travel of the cloth, said :teeler being connected with said pawl to cause the pawl to operatively engage the rack bar,

thereby causing suitable extension of the cloth rest.

, 13. A feeler mechanism for automatically controlling the extension of a sectional cloth rest of a shear, embracing'in its construction a forked member adapted to engage opposite sides of the edge portion of the cloth in front of the shear and to swing about a pivotal axis transverse to the plane movable about the same axis, substantiallyas described.

14. In a cloth shear, the combination with an extensible cloth-rest, of a feeler device arranged to embrace the edge portion of the cloth on its opposite surfaces, and a clothof teeth on one side thereof, and a double of the cloth combined with an actuator pawl ended pawl pivoted intermediate of its ends to be operatively engaged with said rack bar,

the teeth at the terminal portion of said rack-bar being formed to prevent outwardly actuating engagement between the pawl and the rackbar, substantially as described.

16. cloth-spreading device for a cloth shear embracing a corrugated member pivotally mounted to beflswingable over and upon the upper face of the cloth with its corrugations oblique to the travel of the cloth and pressing the cloth against an underneath support, and means also engaging the cloth adjacent to said spreader to maintain the spreader in operative relation to the cloth as the cloth swerves outwardly 0r inwardly in the travel of the shear, substantially as described.

17 A cloth-spreading device for aclothshear embracing a rotary spreading member provided with annular corrugations rotatably mounted upon an arm swingable about an axis substantially parallel to the plane of the cloth, said arm' being arranged to allowthe rotaryspreader, of its own Weight, .to press the cloth against an underneath support While rotating about an axis'oblique to the forward movement of the cloth, said spreader being automatically adjustable transversely of the travel of the cloth to maintain operative engagement with the cloth as thecloth swerves sidewise.

In itness whereof, Ihave subscribed the above specification.

CHARLES G. RICHARDSON. 

